Page 9 of The Madman's Nightmare
She chuckled. “I guess he kept secrets from you, huh?” Shaking her head, she continued, “I’ve been married to Devlin for close to ten years, but he’s been ignoring me, so I had to take drastic steps.”
“By kidnapping me?” I asked, and her smile disappeared.
“I didn’t kidnap you, you stupid bitch. I did exactly what Devlin asked me to do.”
“And what’s that?”
She smirked and leaned forward, linking her fingers together as she responded. “I made you disappear so he and I can have the life we’ve been planning from the start.”
I shook my head and replied, “You’re lying. There’s no way you’re his wife.”
She laughed as she pushed out of her chair and rounded the desk. I didn’t expect the back hand and it caused my head to whip to the side as she grabbed my shirt and pulled me closer to her. I felt blood trickle down my chin from my painful lip.
“I’m going to show you that your precious Devlin has been playing you from the start,” the woman said, then she looked at the man sitting beside me. “Bring me the folder.”
He stood and retrieved a folder from the desk before handing it to her. She released her grip on my shirt and opened the folder. Pulling something out, she handed it to me, and my world tilted on its axis as I looked at the paper in my hand.
A certificate of marriage between Devlin Callahan and who I now knew to be Kendra Mills. The signature on the certificate was identical to Devlin’s, and tears filled my eyes. I looked up at Kendra as she smiled down at me with her eyebrows raised in mock surprise.
“There’s . . . there’s no way this is real,” I reasoned. “Devlin loves me.”
She started laughing as she dropped the folder onto the desk and stepped to the side with her hand extended toward it, offering me the chance to look at the content. Carefully, I reached out and took the folder in my trembling hands, thinking this was a sick joke. One document at a time, I went through the folder, seeing pictures of a young Devlin and a younger versionof the woman in front of me standing at an altar, smiling as they held up their hands, showing rings on their fingers.
I examined pictures of them on vacation, a deed to a house, and a few other documents that seemed to prove she was telling the truth.
But how could all this be true?
Kendra retook her seat, and I fell back into mine as the reality of what she told me began to sink in.
She really was Devlin’s wife. And if they’d planned on kidnapping me, what was the end game?
Was I ever going to escape?
Was anyone looking for me?
What about my sons?
And where was Devlin?
Chapter 5
Devlin
Every time I tried to get out of bed, one of my sisters would push me back, demanding I rest. But I didn’t want to rest. I wanted to find Elise and kill whoever took her. Looking at the clock. I saw it was just after noon, and I cleared my throat, drawing Stella’s attention. Her husband, Hawk, had joined us a few hours ago, and he lifted his head from his seat by the door, looking to see what I needed.
“If you’re going to ask me to help you get out of here, please don’t. We need you whole and there’s nothing you can do right now but rest,” Stella said, and I shook my head.
I felt an inch tall and hated depending on anyone, but this entire situation was out of my control. Stella took a seat on the edge of my bed and lowered her voice as she asked, “What do you need, Devlin?”
“The boys are with Elise’s parents, and I need tell them what’s going on,” I remarked, and she reached out and placed her hand over mine.
“Gunner and Sadie have been at the house with Chuck, Blaire, and the boys since last night. Jackal is overseeing rotating security, and no one is going to get close to any of them,” Stella explained.
Hawk cleared his throat, and I turned to see him stand from his seat and approach the bed. He looked down at me in my injured state and expounded. “James told me when they found you last night, when you were being transported here, he calledGunner and explained everything. Chuck and Blaire are worried about you and Elise, but no one blames you for this, Devlin.”
“I blame me,” I returned and felt a strong hand on my uninjured shoulder.
“Stop feeling sorry for yourself, madman, and get fucking mad. Someone shot you and took your wife. Tap into the animalistic part of you that lives for the blood and let him free,” Hawk suggested.
